I consider myself fortunate because I knew what I wanted to do since I
was 11 years old. Nothing seemed like a more perfect job than attending
sporting events and writing about them. But nothing
was definite until my senior year of high school. At Pasadena (Calif.) High, a fellow
student running for a minor student body cabinet office (Elections
Commissioner; notice the coincidence) told me he saw
some people stuffing the ballot box for his opponent. Working on the
student paper at the time, I went to work at uncovering the truth.
Because of my investigations and writings, the election was declared
null and void.

In the meantime, I continued my sports writing pursuits and won the
school's Best Sportswriter award. After graduating second in my class, I
enrolled at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and declared
journalism as my major. I never changed majors and graduated in 1990
cum laude after having spent time as a writer, reporter and sports
editor for the school paper, and delivering sports reports on the campus
radio station.

My career as a professional writer has been varied and rewarding. I spent 12 years
as a sports writer for Los Angeles daily newspapers, including the Daily
News. I wrote about everything from preps to pros and earned a degree of
respect for my in-depth, human-interest stories that dealt with athletes
overcoming incredible adversities to excel. Along the way, I picked up
valuable leadership and organizational skills that included
time-budgeting, making deadlines, copy editing, headline and
caption writing, proofreading and page design.

Since striking out on my own in late 2004, I have expanded my
repertoire to include non-sports pieces for such diverse outlets as
the Jewish Journal, several RV publications, Patch.com and SCI FI
Wire (now called Blastr). In 2010, I took another turn and started
writing corporate scripts and speeches, marketing materials of all
kinds (from your 30-second commercial/elevator speech to your
brochures and direct mail letters), website pages and SEO. I also
started blogging about proper word choice (Click on the Blog tab
above). Finally, I have added ghostwriting and book writing. In
2016, I returned to my roots and started wrting for the weekly Santa
Clarita Gazette and Free Classifieds.

I have branched out into editing, too. My clients have included:
Respiratory Management (now called Respiratory & Sleep Management), in
which I edited all copy for this HME home-oxygen magazine; the CSUN
Family Focus Resource and Empowerment Center, in which I wrote, edited
and designed this nonprofit's newsletter; and several special-education
master's students, whose theses I edited. More recently, I have
added L.A. Parent magazine. In 2012, I started editing books and
manuscripts. In 2015, I started and finished several, including a
128-page, 37,100 word novella and two smaller manuscripts: a
fiictional account of a lesbian who goes to Uganda and a non-fiction
argument that Armaggedon has arrived in the form of ISIS. In 2017, I
completed another manuscript, this one a fantasy about an awkward
teenage boy and his friends who travel to a mysterious and magical
world where what's inside you is as important as your outer strength
and intelligence.

I live in Los Angeles, am married since 1995 to Erika and have a
daughter, Elise (born 2001). In my spare time, I enjoy refereeing high
school and club volleyball, softball and soccer.